The 2015 Lincoln Navigator is a relic of a bygone era. A time of great prosperity, when giants roamed the land. A time when a road-going HUMVEE sounded like an excellent idea. Wages were high, unemployment was low. The Clinton era had not yet ended, and the tumultuous days of the Bush era had yet to kick off with a bang above lower Manhattan. If you had it, you flaunted it. And bigger was most definitely better.

The Smart ForTwo, in many circles, is a very misunderstood vehicle. It's the butt of many an automotive joke, preyed upon like the shortest kid in class. However, if you need a no-nonsense car for purely urban driving, it's tough to beat the diminutive ForTwo. Smart's rolling out an all new generation for the 2016 model year, and even though it's wider and a bit fancier, it somehow has an even smaller turning radius than before.

2008 Ford F-350 Chassis

2008 Ford F-350 Chassis ReviewNew, more refined and more capable.

By G. R. Whale

Overview

The 2008 Ford Super Duty pickups feature new styling inside and out along with a re-engineered suspension that delivers a smoother ride. A new diesel engine and a new F-450 pickup are designed to handle the needs of ever-increasing agricultural, boat, and RV trailer weights. Other revisions and refinements are designed to address customer comment and stricter emissions standards.

Two words can define the 2008 Super Duty relative to the previous iteration: refined and more. It has more of the work ability you expect from a heavy-duty pickup, yet it is more comfortable, rides better, delivers more in the cost-benefit analysis, and is more environmentally friendly, a lexicon not normally applied to big trucks. With realistic expectations, any faults will seem minute when compared to the ability to plow a big parking lot, carry a small car or tow a small house.

The 2008 Super Duty is not an all-new truck. Some body panels, engines and transmissions continue. But many aspects more substantial than the front-end styling have changed. It has a new interior in five different flavors from hose-out to leather lux, a new diesel engine, more added features, and should cost less based on equipment than the outgoing model.

And in a first for any major pickup manufacturer Ford has added a medium-duty pickup, the F-450, to the line. This model will be pricey by pickup standards, probably over $60,000 loaded, but it offers load capacity and towing ability never before found in a pickup, and is capable of carrying 5,000 pounds of hay and towing an 18,500-pound horse trailer simultaneously.

Need a truck to work? The Super Duty line can haul from one ton to three. It can tow from three tons to more than twelve. It can carry three to six real-world people with room to spare. And the door pockets, glovebox, and console will hold more stuff than some sports cars' trunks. If you don't need a truck to perform heavy duty work, stop reading here.

Model Lineup

The 2008 Ford Super Duty comes in myriad configurations, with four trim levels, four weight divisions, and two box sizes (6.75 feet, 8 feet), the majority available in two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. Almost every permutation is built. Exceptions: The King Ranch version is offered only on Crew Cabs, the F-450 is long-bed Crew Cab only, and the FX4 trim is not offered on 2WD, any F-450, or with a regular cab.

A 5.4-liter V8 with 300 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque is standard on all models up to the F-350 Crew Cab DRW, which has the 362-hp, 457 lb-ft 6.8-liter V10 standard. Both the V10 and 6.4-liter diesel (350 hp, 650 lb-ft) are optional across the F-250/F-350 spectrum, but the diesel is the only engine offered on F-450. A six-speed manual is standard, a five-speed automatic available.